A Quiet Evening Alone
by Jan08
Summary: All cases Beckett and Castle ever had to investigate were about others. What if this one was about them?
1. Prologue

[The camera sweeps the crime scene as Crushcrushcrush by Paramore begins to play. "_Nothing compares to a quiet evening alone…" _It enters through the door, which swings open upon contact with the camera, and begins to travel down the dingy entryway. It takes an abrupt turn into the dining room, and then turns again into a dim hallway. Doors alternate on either side of the camera. The camera continues sweeping the crime scene until it enters the bedroom- the room at the very end of the hallway. The camera zooms in onto the door knob, and it opens. The white, spotless door opens, revealing a very neat, majestic bedroom with a bed at the very center. It is adorned with gold sheets, and unnecessary pillows. In the middle of it all appears to be a woman who is sleeping. Upon closer examination by the camera, we realize she is not breathing. "_They taped over your mouth, scribbled out the truth with their lies- you little spies." _The camera pans over to the other side of her, and only her face is exposed- fiery red hair tangled across her face, her mouth covered with a single strip of wide, metallic duct tape. The music fades.]

[The Castle__title sequence plays.]


	2. The Threat

Beckett is seated at her desk, tediously typing something up. She looks focused, and her brows are furrowed in concentration. Castle, on the other hand, is spinning childishly in his chair, reading a book, 'Solving Crimes for Dummies'. He appears to be mumbling to himself, which causes Beckett much irritation.

"Castle!" she exclaims, silencing his muttering, and halting his chair. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he replies, sarcastically addressing her typing, while she, in turn, was referring to his mumbling. He continues to spin and read. Beckett sighs, obviously forfeiting the battle with the 5 year old in front of her. She suddenly gets a phone call.

"Beckett," she answers. She pauses for a moment, her eyes glancing at the watch on her wrist. "Yeah," she continues. "I'll be there."

[The camera shows Beckett's computer screen, which is Castle's website, and we notice she is on the page where one can preorder any of his books. She quickly closes the window, opens another window, and deletes all browsing history. She never wants Castle to know she was there. She deletes it again, paranoid.]

She stands up, and begins exiting the precinct without informing Castle. He appears to still be spinning in his desk, but upon her reaching the precinct's front door, he is right behind her.

"You know," he begins, speaking softly, "If you wanted a copy, you could've just asked me." Beckett's eyes widen, and Castle smirks.

"So where are we going?" Castle asks, hastening his pace, enabling him to walk side by side with Beckett.

"_I'm_ going to the crime scene," Beckett states blatantly, her face empty of any emotion. Her walk is determined, focused. "_You're_ going home," she states matter-of-factly. She knows that this won't persuade Castle to stay away, but it was worth the try.

Castle pouts momentarily. "No, no, no, no, you see," he begins, still walking beside Beckett, "_We're_ going to the crime scene. Dead people are kind of my forte," he finishes dryly.

Beckett clenches her teeth, slightly annoyed. "Well then I guess you're going to get exactly what you want," she says, motioning to the cop car.

Castle looks at her confused.

"The woman, Castle," Beckett says, irritated about Castle's new obtuseness. "Found dead in her bedroom, wearing nothing but a piece of duct tape on her mouth."

"Nothing but a…" Castle trails off, "Say," he continues, with a naughty grin on his face, "You wouldn't have any pictures, or anything, would y-"

"Castle!" Beckett interrupts, now furious.

"Sorry, sorry," Castle says, sincerely apologizing, waving his hands in mock surrender.

Beckett glares, but turns to her steering wheel, and pulls out of the parking space.

"You know," Castle says, throwing an admiring glance Beckett's way, "You're kind of pretty when you're mad."

Beckett throws daggers at Castle, and swiftly turns, causing Castle to crash back into his seat.

"Words, Beckett, _words_," Castle chastises, rubbing his hands on his now whiplashed neck. "If you kill me, I won't be able to finish my book," he continues.

"Oh, we wouldn't want that," exclaims Beckett, her words dripping with sarcasm.

The phone rings.

[Camera pans to the cell phone, now comfortably seated on the dashboard. 'Private Number' blinks across the LCD screen, something unusual for a cop's phone. Beckett reaches for it, and the camera now focuses on Beckett answering the phone.]

"Beckett," she answers.

[Camera pans to Castle, who is now absent mindedly fidgeting with his hands.]

"Excuse me, who are you-"

The phone goes dead. Beckett looks horrified, and Castle glances up in confusion.

"Who was that?" Castle asks, sheer concern in his eyes.

"I don't know," is Beckett's solemn reply.

"Well, what did they say?" Castle asks, continuing to fidget with his fingers.

"It was a death threat," replied Beckett.

[Fade to black.]


	3. Leanne Kegan

**I'd like to give a shoutout to Shani8, and Wake-Up Soon…thank you for the reviews, I appreciate them a lot. =) I'll try to cut down the camera parts. But they're just so gosh darn fun to write. xD Thanks again for the comments, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

[Camera returns to the precinct, where Montgomery is now on his phone. He appears to be on the phone with the victim's family, letting them know Beckett will be a little late. Camera pans down just a little, to expose Beckett, Esposito, Ryan, and Castle huddled around the computer. Camera moves down to show Beckett's hand, which subsequently clicks on the left button of a mouse. Next to the mouse, her cell phone can be seen, attached to a wire that is hooked up to the computer. The death threat plays.]

"End the investigation, Beckett, or Leanne Kegan won't be the only one dead," threatened a deep, mechanically altered voice through the speakers of the computer. Montgomery finishes his conversation, and looks to the speakers in surprise. Castle looks concerned- more than he's ever been, and Esposito is jotting something down.

"Play it again," demands Ryan, reaching his hand to the now unoccupied mouse.

Beckett grasps his hand before it reaches the dark grey plastic, and shoves it aside.

"No, Ryan. It's not exactly something I want to hear again." Beckett is visibly distraught, and Castle glances over at her in sympathy.

"Sorry," mumbles Ryan, obviously withdrawn.

Montgomery walks over. "Any progress, you guys?" He scoots between Castle, who is seated on the desk behind Beckett, and stands between Ryan and Esposito- both of whom are located to the right of the computer. He reaches over to play the recording again, and this time, Beckett doesn't stop him. Ryan glares in mock anger. Montgomery plays it again.

"Leanne Kegan, the victim?" he asks, confusion visible on his face. Beckett nods. He bends over and plays the recording once more.

"Sir," Beckett interrupts, but is silenced by Montgomery.

"No, shhh," he demands, "Listen."

The recording is played for the final time, and this time, something else is heard- a name appears to be called towards the end of the recording, as if whoever made the recording was being called as he neared the end of making it.

"It sounds like 'Josh'," Montgomery comments, releasing his hold on the mouse.

"Yeah," Castle agrees, "It does sound like someone is saying Josh…but what does that mean?"

"It means that we've put an identity to this recording, Castle," Ryan interrupts, "It means that this person is going to be easier to find."

"No," Beckett says, "That's not all. It means that whoever killed Leanne Kegan is our caller, and they're trying to stop us from discovering who they are. It means we have two crimes to solve, now, one already committed, and one in the making. It means it's a lot more dangerous, Castle, for you to be around." She looks at Castle, who appears to be undisturbed by this recommendation.

"Yeah, Kate," Castle begins, jumping childishly off the desk, "It's so dangerous." He waves his hands in the air in mock concern. "It's not like I've never been near bullets before. Besides, you need help now, more than ever. When the going gets tough, the tough ain't leavin'," Castle improvises. Beckett appears to be angry that she is being ignored, but also ecstatic that Castle cares so much.

"Castle, I couldn't deal with being responsible for anything that happened to you, so-"

"Is that actual concern?" Castle interrupts.

"Castle!" Beckett argues, displeased with her slip-up.

"Kate, I promise, I'll be fine." Castle looks at Beckett with pleading eyes, the hint of a grin visible on his face.

"Fine," she agrees, looking to the floor in defeat.

Suddenly Montgomery's phone rings, and he answers it immediately.

"Montgomery," he answers. "Okay, she'll be right there." Beckett glances up questioningly.

"Christopher Kegan," he states, answering Beckett's unasked question, "Brother of Leanne. He's freaking out- says someone just drove by and shot at his house."

Montgomery is seen biting his lip as the screen fades to black.


	4. Alibis

[The camera slowly pans into an apartment building. The first thing visible is a broken window in the living room. It is relatively bare, the only furnishings being two sofas and a corner table. There is a small television sitting idly in the corner of the room, and the tan carpet is obviously dirty, although a vacuum stands mere feet from the door. A short, dim hallway is visible, presumably where Christopher's bedroom, along with his roommate's is located.]

"Did you see the person that shot through?" asks Beckett, her dark eyes peering knowingly into Christopher's. Christopher is a tall man, who looks mildly underweight. He has dark bags underneath his eyes, as would anyone who's been through as much trauma as he, and his hair is messy, as if it's been the sole way of relieving anger and stress.

Castle is sitting on an overstuffed sofa next to Beckett, enjoying the close proximity. Across from them sits Chris, bent forward in grief.

"No, I didn't," he replies, regret visible in his withdrawn eyes. "I was sleeping here, and next thing you know, I hear these gunshots. I'm guessing whoever shot…" he glanced down, apparently holding back tears, "was the person that killed Leanne?" He looked back up at Beckett, awaiting an answer.

"It's too early to be sure, but they're definitely suspects."

Christopher nods.

"Where were you yesterday morning?"

"I was sleeping in my room," Christopher replies.

"You seem to be doing a lot of that," Castle remarks, a slight smirk extremely visible.

"I had a pretty full day the day before," he replies. "Leanne and I had gone to lunch downtown. We were discussing how she was going to set me up with this girl. She always liked doing stuff like that." Christopher smiles, the memory obviously affecting him. "She left, and later, I went out with Carly, the girl Leanne had been talking about. Got home at eleven, went to sleep, and the next morning," he paused, "the next morning…I got a phone call saying she was dead. It's all my fault. Maybe she would have been somewhere else, and no one would have killed her." Christopher buries his face in his hands, his back shaking in sorrow.

"Christopher," Beckett says gently, shooting Castle a sympathetic glance, "It wasn't your fault. Nothing you could have done would have changed the situation. But, for investigatory reasons, we're going to need Carly's phone number and address."

He looks up, and nods. He stands up, and shuffles through his pocket. He pulls out a piece of paper with a phone number on it.

"Leanne wrote this for me. I don't have Carly's address though."

Beckett stands up, thanks Christopher, and motions for Castle to leave. Castle proceeds to stand up, shake Christopher's hand, and walks out after Beckett, suavely holding the door open for her.

[The next scene is of Carly in the interrogation room. Carly is a blonde, and is wearing a red shirt, and skinny blue jeans. Her wavy hair comes down to her mid-back, and to Castle, she is very attractive. He very animatedly appears to be drooling over her, his eyes half open, his mouth gaping.]

"Detective," she asks, "Why am I here?" She glances to Castle for answers, and then to Beckett, and back to Castle. On his chest is where her eyes finally settle.

"Where were you yesterday morning?" Beckett asks, leaning forward onto the shiny desk, her eyes pointed.

Carly's eyes move from Castle to Beckett. "I was at my office at Intel. I'm there every day from nine to five."

"Do you know a Leanne Kegan?"

"Leanne?" Carly asks, "Yeah, I knew her. Really well, actually. We were interviewed on the same day, and her office is right next door."

"Was Leanne at work yesterday?" Beckett asks, already knowing what the answer should be, yet waiting for what Carly will say.

"Come to think of it, no," Carly responds, genuinely seeming concerned. "This is about her. Is she okay?"

"You should know, Carly," Beckett responds, her pointed stare morphing into an angry glare. "You killed her."

Carly's mouth swings open, and her eyes are fixed into an incredulous stare. "K-killed Leanne? No, I would never hurt her. I was at Intel, I swear. There's a sign in sheet there, y-you could check it."

Beckett glances over at Castle, and her once furrowed eyebrows smooth into a straight line.

"Leanne's dead?" Carly asks, gulping, before staring hungrily at Beckett for an answer.

"Yes," is the only reply she gets.

"How?"

"It's what we're trying to figure out right now, Carly. Say, do you know Christopher Kegan?"

"Leanne's brother? Yeah, why?"

"Were you two…romantically involved?"

"We went on a date yesterday, yeah, but we weren't, you know, a couple, or anything."

"When did he leave?

"Um," she pauses, her eyes glancing at the ceiling, "I'd say around ten, or ten-thirty."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Carly. We'll get back to you soon," Beckett finishes, dismissing herself.

Carly nods, still frazzled, obviously full of unanswered questions.

[Beckett walks down the hallway of the precinct, with Castle jogging slowly to catch up with her.]

"So," he begins, "Does her story check out, or what?"

"We'll have to check in with a few people first, but from the sound of it, it seems legit," Beckett replies.

"Esposito," she calls, swiftly turning into the cubicles as she spots him. Castle follows. Beckett draws out the slip of paper with Carly's phone number on it.

"Get this tested for fingerprints," she demands, thrusting the slip of paper into his hand. For the first time, Castle notices that the slip of paper has been neatly placed into a bag. He glances as Beckett questioningly.

"Will do," agrees Esposito, as he walks off.

"You never needed it, did you?" Castle asks, efficiently drawing his own conclusion.

"I just needed something that he would have on hand, that would go along with his alibi, and that would have been touched by Leanne. I mean, I knew what he would have had in his pocket, if his alibi was true. I've been out with enough guys to know how they work."

"You've been out on…dates?" Castle asks incredulously, his hand covering his mouth in mock surprise. Beckett glares.

Beckett walks on, but is cut off by Castle as he hastens his pace, and stands right in front of her. She moves to the left, as does he. She moves back to the right, and he mimics her movement. He slowly bends down to her ear.

"You don't know how _I _work," he claims, as he turns on his heel, and walks out of the precinct.


	5. Avocados and Gunshots

**Thanks again for all the awesomesauce reviews. =) Ya'll make my day. I'm trying to be a little stingier with the camera scenes, but they'll still be in there, for those of you that like them, and those of you that of them are not too fond. Hope you like the chapter, and continue reviewing! Shameless advertising, I know. Sue me.**

[Camera zooms in on the closed eye of Castle.]

"Richard," drawls a very distinct, Victorian accent.

[Castle's eye opens, and the camera zooms out so his whole face is in view.]

"Richard!" exclaims the same person.

Castle groans, and puts his pillow over his ears, trying to muffle out the sand.

"RICHARD!"

"Yes, mother," Castle replies, his nostrils flaring in annoyance.

"Detective Beckett is here."

Castle's eyes widen immediately, and he enthusiastically crawls out of bed. He's wearing sweatpants, and a loosely fitting grey t-shirt. He is now in a sitting position on his bed, his feet slowly inserting themselves into puppy slippers, his hand absent-mindedly running through his hair. He stands up, and walks to the door.

"Nice look, Castle," Beckett says, smirking as she sees the puppy slippers.

"What are you doing here?" asks Castle.

"Well, if you want, I can turn around and leave."

"No, no, no, stay," Castle requests, jutting out his bottom lip ever so slightly.

"Fine, Castle, but hurry. If you're not ready in fifteen minutes, I'm leaving without you. We have a big day today." Beckett says, walking from the door to a seat in the kitchen.

"Alright, alright," agrees Castle. He disappears into the hallway. Suddenly, he reappears.

"Just fifteen minutes? It takes a long time to look as good as I-"

"Fourteen minutes."

"Fourteen. Fourteen's good." He disappears again.

[The next scene is of Castle and Beckett walking down the street, coffees in hand.]

"So, where are we going?" asks Castle.

"We're going to interrogate Michelle Saunders. Friend of Leanne's. Went to college together. She'd know more than anyone what she was up to, who she was seeing, things of that sort."

"So, why are we walking?"

"Well," Beckett pauses, clearing her throat. "If you haven't noticed, this area's not the Hamptons. One cop car could scare the people here. The last thing I want to create is a scene."

"And this is coming from someone with a gun strapped over her hip?"

"Yes, Castle. And if you don't shut up the gun on my hip is going to become your murder weapon."

Castle is silent, and Beckett smiles.

[The next scene is one of Beckett and Castle interrogating Michelle Saunders. Her house is relatively nice for the area she lives in. Her house looks new, and seems to have been remodeled.]

"Leanne was a good friend of mine," she says, glancing at her fingertips. "I mean, we went to college together. She had my back, and I had hers."

Beckett stares, trying to formulate a response. "Do you know of any conditions she had? Depression, anything that could have caused her to maybe_ look_ for death?"

"You think she was suicidal?"

"The M.E. hasn't given us any details yet, and by the looks of how she died, I wouldn't say so, but nothing's ruled out just yet."

"As far as I know, she wasn't _depressed_. I mean, after her parents died-"

"Her parents died?" Castle asks, confusion apparent on his face.

Beckett glares at him, silently telling him to be quiet.

"Yes, they did," Michelle replies, glancing at Castle, and then at Beckett. "Car accident. She was obviously upset after, but that was a couple years ago, and she's been doing fine."

"What do you mean by 'she's been doing fine'?" Beckett asks, trying to comprehend.

"Well, her mother was Andrea Kegan, you know, the designer?" responds Michelle, "In her will, most of her money was given to Leanne to keep the business running. So, I mean, financially, she's been doing fine. And emotionally. I helped her through it. I spend a lot of time with her, I would've noticed any behavioral changes." Castle exchanged a concerned glance with Beckett, as she stands up and shakes Michelle's hand.

"Thank you," she says, "We'll keep you updated."

[Both Castle and Beckett are both now at the precinct, with Castle sitting on Beckett's desk, and Beckett herself sitting in a chair. Montgomery walks in.]

"Lanie would like to see you about the Kegan case, Beckett," he says, gesturing for her to meet her.

"Alright, sir," Beckett replies immediately, as she gets up out of her seat and proceeds through the hallway.

The M.E. room is dark, with cabinets and drawers filling the walls. The room appear blue, due to a bright light used to detect blood stains and such, normally invisible to the naked eye.

"Interesting case you have here, Kate," says Lanie, smirking.

"What's so interesting about it?" replies Beckett, slipping a pair of latex gloves on her hands. Castle, in the meantime, has put both of his on, but is now proceeding to take another and blow it up.

"Well, there were no stab wounds, bullet wounds, or anything of that sort found on her body. Whoever killed her used this." Lanie holds up a small vile of a green colored sample, and both Beckett and Castle squint to identify it.

"Is that," Beckett begins.

"Avocado," confirms Lanie, desperately trying to suppress a grin.

"Death by avocados…there's a new one," mutters Castle, who has apparently given up on blowing up the latex hand.

"She's deathly allergic. Whoever killed her gave her a very small amount." Lanie continued.

"So it wasn't a suicide?" asks Beckett, understanding slowly sweeping over her face.

"No. Under the duct tape are very small lesions, probably from being force fed…roughly. Someone had to-"

"Have known she was allergic." Finished Beckett, crossing her arms in triumph.

"Whoever knew this took advantage of it and-" Beckett was abruptly interrupted by loud gunshots on the windows. Lanie, Beckett, and Castle both instinctively scrambled to the floor, clutching the cool tile. Screams and disarray were heard, but after a few minutes, the only sound heard was the breathing of the trio. They slowly stood up, and examined the broken glass that now lay scattered across the floor.

Beckett looked at Lanie speechless, and Castle looked somewhat stunned. Suddenly, Beckett's phone rang.

It's message was short and pointed, and the caller was definitely the same one who had previously threatened death against Beckett.

"One more day," it began, "and you'll be dead."


	6. Pink High Heels

**Yay! Thank you for all the reviews once more. They're much appreciated! My story's slowly drawing to a close, so there'll probably only be a couple chapters left, but in the meantime, if anyone has a plot in mind that they think would make a good story, PM me! I have a couple I'm thinking about, but any input would be fantastic. =) ENJOY ZEE CHAPTER. **

Beckett sat at her desk as Castle fidgeted with his fingers.

"Whoever's calling me used an internet café. This makes it almost impossible to figure out who the perpetrator is. But the I.P. address traces back downtown, near Michelle Saunders," Beckett comments, glancing at Castle. For the first time, Castle detects a bit of worry and fear in her eyes.

"You don't think _she _did it, do you?" asks Castle, doubt apparent in his voice. "Hardly looks like a criminal mastermind."

"I don't know, Castle, but right now, everybody's a suspect."

"Yeah, her pink high heels were really what did me in," Castle responds, smirking.

Beckett glares, slowly standing up from her desk.

"I'm going home," she says, "If we're going to catch the killer, I'm going to need more than 3 hours of sleep." She quickly waves to Castle, and stifles a yawn. Castle stops her.

"Are you crazy?" he asks, his eyes widening, "There's someone out there that wants to kill you, and you're going to your _house_? Have you not read any of my books?"

Beckett smiles at his last comment, as she knows Castle does not know the half of it.

"You don't expect me to stay _here_, do you? I can't just- oh no." She glares knowingly into his eyes, and a small grin appears on his otherwise serious face.

"Oh, yes."

[The next scene is of Castle driving to his house with Beckett in the passenger seat. She's holding on to some spare clothes she took from her office in the precinct. She is visibly annoyed, and she's staring out the window, as Castle is driving cheerfully, donning a huge smile. He reaches to the stereo to find a song. Beckett stops him.]

"Please," she begs, "The least you can let me do it sulk in peace."

"Oh, come on. I'm not _that _bad, am I?" Castle asks, raising his eyebrows in mock question.

Beckett turns to look at him, her eyes burning with fury.

Castle pulls into a parking spot and the duo get out of the car. He makes his way to the apartment, and holds out the door for Beckett. She still doesn't look happy.

Castle gestures to the hallway, and shows Beckett the guest room.

"This is our guest room," he says blatantly, although it's rather obvious. "Make yourself at home." He turns around and leaves, to give Beckett some privacy.

"You barge in on me while I'm changing, and I shoot you," Beckett threatens, wagging her finger at him. Castle doesn't turn around, but merely waves his hands in surrender.

"Oh, and Castle?" she continues. Castle turns around.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure."

**Yeah, so this chapter is really short, but I think simplicity was best for this scene. **


	7. Fingerprints

**Haha, so much excitement for the overnight stay!**

Beckett wakes up cheerfully, momentarily forgetting where she is. She's now in a tee, and sweatpants. She gets up out of bed, and heads to the bathroom only to find Castle in a towel.

"Oh, Castle!" she exclaims, instinctively shielding her eyes. She turns, and walks into her room, flushing with embarrassment.

"I'm fully clothed now, Kate," calls Castle. Beckett walks outside, extremely cautiously, and peers outside the window.

"I was just…I was going…" she stumbled for words, and ends up just heading to the bathroom without another word said.

Castle can be heard laughing.

[Next scene is of both Castle and Beckett at the precinct. Beckett never once looks up at Castle, still obviously embarrassed. She is standing in front of a large board with pictures of the crime scene, the victim, etc, and is staring intently at it.

"It just doesn't make sense," she exclaims, defeat apparent in her voice. She squints, focusing even more on it.

"Leanne didn't have a boyfriend at the time, so it wasn't him. None of our evidence matches up with Christopher, and neither does it match up with Carly. I would say it was Michelle, but we have nothing to support that either." Beckett momentarily closes her eyes, letting a soft sigh escape her lips, and opens them, visibly annoyed.

"And on top of this," Castle adds, a small smirk appearing on his face, "You're supposed to die today."

Beckett's hand reaches toward the gun.

"Whoa, Nelly," Castle responds, the smirk disappearing from his face.

Just then, Esposito walks in, a concerned look on his face.

"Beckett," he calls, walking forward.

He hands her the same bag she had previously given him, with a slip of paper on it. Beckett looks at him questioningly, as does Castle.

"Only fingerprints found on this baby is Christopher's. No trace of any Leanne, or whatever her name is."

Beckett and Castle exchange knowing glances.

"So it was him," is all Beckett says.


	8. Clenched Jaws and Duct Tape

"NYPD, open up!" exclaims Beckett, now at Christopher's door. Her hands are clasped firmly around a shiny gun, but one has momentarily let go to pound on the door. Castle is behind her, wearing his favorite bullet proof vest, standing calmly.

No one answers the door.

Beckett kicks, and the door swings open. She walks in, still prepared with the gun and her own vest, and she marches carefully into the living room. On the coffee table near the sofa on which Beckett once sat, there lay a container of bullets. She examines the room even more closely, and in the very corner, peeking out of a box is a roll of duct tape.

"DON'T MOVE." A sudden, unrecognizable voice says. Both Beckett and Castle cautiously glance over, and see Christopher, holding a gun of his own, fear visible on his face.

"Put down the gun, Christopher, and no one gets hurt," Beckett calmly demands.

Tears are on the brink of pouring down Christopher's face, and his face is stained with dirt and sweat. He moves carefully around, as does Beckett, both masters of the violent game they're playing.

Abruptly, Christopher shoots, and narrowly misses Castle. His eyes widen, but he's careful not to show any emotion. Beckett doesn't glance over. Her eyebrows furrow.

"Christopher…put down the gun," she demands again, inching forward,"

Christopher straightens his arms, looking up, his eyes darting to both sides of the room.

"Don't come any closer!" he demands, his voice shaking. "I-I'll shoot!" He inches to the door, but Beckett is one step ahead of him. She inches behind him, allowing him to open up the door.

Once opened, the first thing he is greeted with is Ryan and Esposito holding guns. He turns around, trying to escape, but Beckett is blocking his way. Castle cheerfully holds up a pair of handcuffs.

"Christopher Kegan, you are under arrest for first degree murder," he says smiling, as he puts them around his arms. Ryan and Esposito walk out with Christopher, who is wiggling wildly in their arms.

Castle walks out, but Beckett taps his shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asks, sheer concern sparkling in her eyes.

"I'm fine," Castle reassures her, before walking out the door.

[The next scene is of Christopher, Castle and Beckett in the interrogation room.]

"Why did you do it?" Beckett asks, her eyes knowing, and narrowed.

"She always got _everything,"_ Christopher responds hesitantly, the words escaping through snarled teeth.

"When mom and dad died," he continues, gulping, "they gave her almost everything they own. I was the one that had to work for everything. I was the one that had to take three jobs. I was the one that lost so much, and gained absolutely nothing," he pauses, a sick grin appearing on his face. "So I killed her."

"You didn't have money, so you killed your own sister?" Beckett asks, genuine disgust imminent on her features.

"She just…wouldn't stop…_screaming," _he answers, explaining himself even further. So I snuck some avocado into her food when I went to her house, and taped over her mouth. I put her in her bed, and made it look like she was sleeping. I figured after she died," he continued, his lips still caught in a murderous smirk, "I'd inherit everything. I'D GET EVERYTHING THAT I ALREADY SHOULD HAVE."

He broke down into tears, but the only sorrow permeating from them was for him. He slammed his fist on the table, and Beckett glances at it.

"And now, to think," she adds, raising one eyebrow, "You'll never get any of it. Most prisoners don't get paid when they're serving a _life sentence in prison." _The words escape her lips like music, and she makes a point to emphasize the last few words. Christopher shudders, the smirk disappearing from his lips.

"It might have been less," Beckett says, "If you hadn't threatened death." Christopher's eyes slowly close, but reopen almost immediately.

"I just…didn't want to be caught. I'd lose everything." His eyes closed again, agitation spreading through his now clenched jaw.

"There's no excuse," Beckett replied, motioning to the security guard through the two-way mirror to take him away. She glances at Castle, who is staring seriously at Christopher.

The security guard enters, and Christopher stands up. They leave the interrogation room, and soon Beckett and Castle follow.

"I can't believe he'd do that. Even murders in my books aren't that sick," exclaims Castle, hands swinging from side to side.

"Yeah, well. It's a sick world," Beckett replies, hastening her pace, disappearing into her office.


	9. Of All the Velvet Boxes

**Last chapter ya'll. I hope you've enjoyed the story! :D**

Beckett sits tiredly in her chair, despite the good night's rest she had before. Her eyes close, and her neck bends backwards.

"Kate?"

Her neck snaps forward.

"Yeah?"

"Uh…" Castle pauses awkwardly, formulating a reply.

"Well," he begins, "I had some extra time, and so I got this for you." He holds out a velvet box, much like that of a wedding ring box.

"You're not going to propose to me, are you?" Beckett asks, raising an eyebrow in taunt.

"Well…actually," stutters Castle.

Beckett's eyes widen.

Castle prepares to bend down on one knee, but abruptly stands. He quickly opens the box.

"Just kidding," he says, a boyish grin appearing on his face.

Beckett glares, and peeks at the velvet box's contents for the first time.

It's a thin, gold necklace with a small gold pen charm hanging from the bottom.

"It's beautiful. But Castle, I can-" Not letting Beckett finish her sentence, he lifts the necklace from the box, and places it around her neck. His warm hands feel good on her cold skin.

"Like I said," he continues, bending forward so that his lips are near her ear.

"You don't know how I work."


End file.
